Feast of the Black Madonna Celebration & Virtual Pilgrimage in Southern Italy

Online

Celebrate the feast of the Black Madonna on September 8th! Our Lady of Freedom (Madonna della Libera), Montevergine & Viggiano With the online VIRTUAL PILGRIMAGE TO THE BLACK MADONNA IN SOUTHERN ITALY - "THE VOYAGE OF THE BLACK MADONNA special LIVE PRESENTATION SEPTEMBER 8TH ! With Award winner singer, teacher, author & percussionist Alessandra Belloni Wednesday September 8 - 6:30 PM EST ZOOM Link will be sent after you register at: As online course through TEACHABLE https://thecenterfortheblackmadonna.teachable.com/.../vir... https://thecenterfortheblackmadonna.teachable.com/ single session cost $ 50 - https://www.everbutton.com/pay/6349 This special event will feature Alessandra's lecture and guide through Episodes 4 & 5 of the online video series and sacred chants with live music from the Opera “The Voyage of the Black Madonna” with composer and guitarist John La Barbera. Alessandra will teach the chants and prayers to the Madonna of Montevergine (Avellino) and La Madonna della Libera (Moiano Benevento and more- These ancient healing chants use the Lydian Scale or Neapolitan Scale to invoke the healing power of the sun and moon, the Earth Mother, and Mary Mother of Jesus. This special evening features a short presentation by Alessandra Belloni about myths & legends in the South of Italy and the ancient sacred sites of the Black Madonna. Alessandra will speak about her personal healing journey with the Black Madonna, and her unique research that led her to write make the video series and her book. Participants will be taken on an enchanting journey of discovery to the seven Black Madonnas, following the ancient Neapolitan legend, known as the "Seven Sisters" in Southern Italy. This trip into traditional legends, miracles and history, transports audiences to a time and place where an unbroken and ancient tradition continues today with processions, drumming rituals, chanting and sensual dancing in honor of the Black Madonna of Montevergine, who is considered the most important of the seven sisters. She continues to be venerated on a high sacred mountain, which pilgrims still climb barefoot while chanting and drumming in her honor. From Alessandra: After bringing people on pilgrimage to the sacred sites of the Black Madonna and cancelled due to the pandemic I am proud to offer the second live presentation of this pilgrimage VIRTUALLY to you! Through the digital teaching platform called Teachable. I will take people on the same journey as I have done for almost 40 years as a devotion to the Black Madonna, and which inspired me to write my book HEALING JOURNEYS WITH THE BLACK MADONNA. Through the 8 episodes, you can join me on a mystical journey of initiation, transformation, and empowerment as I unveil the secret healing power of the musical traditions of the Black Madonna. The virtual pilgrimage includes footage I’ve filmed over forty years of documenting authentic southern Italian festa dedicated to the passionate healing practices of the Black Madonna. Together, we visit THREE of seven sacred sites of the Black Madonna, known in the Italian folk tradition as "the Seven Sisters." connected to the Goddesses that are part of the ancient worship of Mother Earth and the Moon Goddesses, and the archetype of the African Mother Isis and Cybele We will dance & drum our way down from Naples through Calabria to Sicily, visiting local folk musicians and intoxicatingly beautiful and romantic Southern Italian hilltops and coastal towns all while we visit the enchanting and mysterious Seven Black Madonnas. Once enrolled in the course, you’ll find a straightforward curriculum. Each “stop” includes a video and detailed explanation, as well as an MP3 and lyrics to a sacred chant for each Madonna. You will be able to keep the course for 6 months. Right now, I’m offering “The Voyage of the Black Madonna Virtual Pilgrimage to the Sacred Sites of the Black Madonna in Southern Italy” course at a special pre-sale price of $200; after August 30th, the cost will increase to $ 275. And a payment plan is available. https://thecenterfortheblackmadonna.teachable.com/purchas... As a special bonus, people who enroll early will also receive an invitation to a special two-day interactive presentation SEPTEMBER 8 at 6:30pm EST (3pm Pacific time ). Link will be available after you register. We will end with Q&A. Please see the detailed description of the episodes below! If you have questions and for more information please contact: Alessandra Belloni at ABelloni@aol.com or alessandrabelloni@gmail.com I am happy to share this very personal journey with you, one which will transform your life! Blessings to all, Alessandra Belloni EPISODE 4 – This the Madonna Alessandra is most devoted to, thanks to receiving a personal miracle. BLACK MADONNA DELLA LIBERA - Moiano (Benevento) - We continue in the mountains to Benevento, where we meet Our Lady of Freedom, la Madonna della Libera, also known as “la Brunetella” – the little dark one. This region was once an ancient settlement of the Egyptians and the cult of Isis on the Italian peninsula. Temples of Isis once studded this landscape of mountains and valleys, and the folk traditions of the region are directly descended from the rituals of these temples. On La Brunetella’s festa we have the rare opportunity to witness a ritual never before seen in North America: the strascino, a ritual banned by the Vatican where devotees throw themselves to the church floor to crawl, on their knees, to the Madonna’s altar. You will hear the women haunting chants to thank her for her many miracles during the procession and will learn following the lyrics. EPISODE 3 MADONNA NERA DI MONTEVERGINE - (Avellino) We travel to the beautiful sacred mountain of Montevergine, in the wild, beautiful mountainous region of Campania known as Irpinia. Her church is built upon the remains of a temple to the great Goddess Cybele: the Black mother Earth goddess from Anatolia, frequently depicted carrying a frame drum. We follow the path of the most devoted, climbing on foot up the sacred mountain, where we stop at the sacred and mysterious Throne of the Madonna -- a rock formation where, as legend has it, the Madonna rested when she climbed the mountain, leaving an imprint of her feet in the stone. At night we will meet the well-known tammorra maker Raffaele Inserra from Gragnano, the old singer Zi Giannino and the young one Gianfranco, for a great feast where we will play and dance, and people will have a chance to learn the authentic chant to the Black Madonna di Montevergine. You will learn this sacred chant following the lyrics. EPISODE 5 – LA MADONNA DEL SACRO MONTE DI VIGGIANO (BASILICATA) Next, we travel to Viggiano in the magical region of Basilicata, where we will visit the chapel of la Madonna del Sacro Monte. Here on this sacred mountain in the middle of magna Grecia, near the remains of an ancient temple dedicated to Demeter -- the Greek mother goddess of the grain, of fertility, and of the Earth -- La Madonna, draped in gold, waits for us to arrive. Carved from olive wood and covered in solid gold leaf, this is one of the oldest statues of the Black Madonna in the world. Her feast day, which we will attend via archival footage, is filled with folk music and dance, including the tarantella. While women dance with cinti -- elaborate wax altars to the Madonna -- balanced carefully on their heads, we are introduced to three traditional southern Italian folk instruments: the zampogna, an Italian bagpipe; a double reed instrument called a ciaramella; and a small button accordion called an organetto. PROCESSION OF THE BLACK MADONNA DEI POVERI (our Lady of the Poor) SEMINARA CALABRIA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGThm_r4XOk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EL7cGR9hz0I www.alessandrabelloni.com www.amazon.com/healingjourneyswiththeblackmadonna www.igiullaridipiazza.com www.facebook.com/alessandra54 www.youtube.com/alessandrabella7 www.reverbnation.com/alessandrabelloni Twitter: @Belloni_A